


Some scars are deeper than they seem

by cutebutpsyco



Series: Stephen Strange Bingo 2019 Fills [2]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Give the Cloak it's own character tag, Hidden scar, Hurt Natasha Romanov, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Multi, Scars, Secrets, Wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 11:42:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutebutpsyco/pseuds/cutebutpsyco
Summary: STEPHEN STRANGE BINGO. FILL: IRONWIDOWSTRANGE || BAD THINGS HAPPEN BINGO. FILL: HIDDEN SCAR ||Stephen considered as a victory the fact that she didn’t try to shoot at him, but he knew there wasn’t much more he could ask for. What he saw, though, a moment later was the Cloak eagerly waving at them both while hovering near a coffee table where what looked to be the inside of a first aid kit seemed to be reversed on. That had the Doctor being worried and, combined with the fact that Nat didn’t move from her position when she heard him coming meant just one thing in his mind.





	Some scars are deeper than they seem

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with trying to fill some square in the bingo cards I have. This one is Itronwidowstrange because I love them.  
> Please mind the tag. The abortion thing isn't discussed, but considering that ~~we~~ I don't actually know how old Nat was when the Red Room happened, so I kinda decided to make her suffer more. Stephen, as a doctor, can recognize the scar from a Caesarian section. I'll probably go back on this sooner or later. 
> 
> As always, nothing belongs to me and this isn't beta-read.

Stephen froze the moment he walked into the main room of the Sanctum. He could feel that there was something wrong in the air, and that weird feeling had been with him for a while, by now. He couldn’t place it, and that said a lot about how much he really deserved the title of Sorcerer Supreme if he must be honest, but it didn’t matter, not at the moment. What really mattered was that he didn’t wait for the scene that was in front of him, something that he was sure wasn’t related with the weird vibes that were coming from the whatever was trying to get his attention in those days. 

Natasha was in the middle of the living room, half curled on the floor while the Cloak was hovering near to her. Having the one Black Widow around him wasn’t weird at all. At least not since the day she smashed their lips together, confirming that they both had been idiots in not realizing their mutual feelings, pretending they just felt shared love for Tony. Which partly was: they both loved him, and that was the only reason why they let the genius date the other, but still. 

“No, not that one, the other,” She said, and Stephen saw the Cloak moving for something that he couldn’t see. At the same moment, though, his attention had been focused back on Nat’s hand that went to the holster she kept on her left leg. “I know is you, but don’t ever try to come on my back again.”

Stephen considered as a victory the fact that she didn’t try to shoot at him, but he knew there wasn’t much more he could ask for. What he saw, though, a moment later was the Cloak eagerly waving at them both while hovering near a coffee table where what looked to be the inside of a first aid kit seemed to be reversed on. That had the Doctor being worried and, combined with the fact that Nat didn’t move from her position when she heard him coming meant just one thing in his mind. 

“Are you hurt?” He asked, moving closer and noticing how she rapidly backed off from him. That was enough for an answer if the blood that was staining her hand wasn't. “Nat, let me help you.”

It was a whisper. Neither of them was good with that, the idea of not being worthy of the time the others could take with them, or simply the need to prove to be indestructible. For Nat it was something completely different, though: she was trained like that. She had been convinced that showing pain meant failing her mission. They all tried to show the others it wasn’t true, but they were stubborn, and so it led to that. 

“I’m fine,” She said, indicating to the Cloak what she needed. This time, cotton and antiseptic fell in her lap almost immediately just for Stephen to reach them before the Black Widow could. She tried to have them back, but that forced her right hand to leave her wounded side and a pained expression to creep through her stoic face when she did it. “You don’t have to.”

“I actually have to,” Stephen answered, trying not to sound too smug while he kneeled by her side and started to raising Nat’s t-shirt revealing the pale and toned skin underneath. The wound ran along her left side for almost his entire length and Stephen didn’t want to think about the origin of it. It was pointless, considering that she had been on a SHIELD mission and it was very likely classified. “As a doctor, I have the moral obligation to help people to feel better and as your boyfriend, I want to help.”

“Just make it short,” She let out in a breath bending her head back so that it was resting against the seat of the sofa when he started to clean the cut. It went lower than he had originally suspected and when he tried to move her t-shirt more the Cloak enveloped Nat’s middle. Stephen’s eyebrow raised again, but he went back to his administration, sure that he would have needed to stitch it. 

“Did you make them pay for this?” He asked, a soft smile adorning his lips.

“Kicked the man’s ass, he tried to bring me down with him. Fuck -” Stephen looked at her as apologetic as he could while he kept looking at the cut on her side. He didn’t like the idea of his partners going around killing people, but he knew that most of the times they didn’t have any other possibility, especially Natasha didn’t. It was in her job description and the only thing he could do was trying to be sure that she didn’t end up killed in the way. 

“Sorry,” He said, knowing that the fault of that was to be found in his shaking hands. He knew it, nothing like that would happen when he still was a surgeon, but now his hands were useless even for the easiest task. 

She shook her head, turning a moment later her jade eyes on the man in front of her so that he could see that she wasn't’ really blaming him. She never did. Never did Tony, even when he didn’t take their side with the other Avengers when the New Accords popped up on the table. Stephen simply didn’t trust the government, and yet they said nothing about that, saying that they understood. And then they stayed. That was weird for the Sorcerer. 

Tony didn’t speak with him for a couple of days, but then he came back, while Nat never left. It was new, for Stephen. Not only not being alone, but having people who really understood him. Christine and Wong were great, but they would never grasp so deep what meant having to be doubtful of everyone and everything. Nat did. And Tony showed them how to give their trust just to few people. They all were learning, but they were together. 

“I went through worse,” She whispered, a soft smile on her full lips. Her voice was starting to sound shaking, which meant that adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was taking over the Black Widow’s body. “Never let Clint take care of your wounds.”

“I didn’t mean to, but thank you,” Stephen chuckled, opening a sterile gauze and pushing it against Nat’s side. The Cloak didn’t move from her lap but stretched one of its helms to keep the gauze still. “You’ll need stitches...”

His voice trailed off, and Stephen could see that Nat understood what he meant. He couldn’t help her with that. His hands were too shaking and he would have ended up hurting her more. And he discovered in one of the worse ways as possible that there were few occasions in which magic couldn’t help, and wounds and medical emergencies were one of those. “I’ll go to call Tony, he was in the lab a few moments ago.”

Which was the reason why Stephen was at the Sanctum that night. They usually spent time at the Tower, where there always was a portal to Bleecker Street, but when Stark was in one of his labs strikes it was pointless to try and force him to bed. “Ok, thank you.”

Stephen smiled, barely bending over the woman’s forehead to place a kiss against it before walking through the portal once again just to be back a moment later with a worried Tony. Stephen hated himself even more at the sight of the man’s wide opened whiskey brown eyes especially knowing that his useless hands were the reason for it. But he also knew it wasn’t Stark’s first round and he was sure that both his lovers were well used to patch up alone. The only reason why Nat didn’t offer to stitch her wound, very likely, was that she was this close to passing out. 

That was the reason why, after having explained Tony that she was fine and the cut was clean and neat, he just seated by her side, holding a trembling hand against her shoulder, the woman’s fingers brushing his while Tony was all taken in his administration helped by the Cloak that moved from Nat’s lap to support the mechanic. 

And that was the moment when Stephen lowered his eyes on Nat’s exposed stomach and noticed the faint silver-ish scar that was crossing it. He never noticed that all her pale skin, just as Stephen and Tony’s own, was crisscrossed by scars, so he never paid attention to those, until now. It was too perfect, too chirurgical. And there was just one explanation that Stephen had for that kind of scar. He couldn’t tell if she noticed his glance, but, for the moment, he decided to let his fall. 

Tony finished rapidly the work and Nat just let herself being carried in Stephen’s bedroom, too tired and in pain to say anything. And still, Stephen knew they would have spoken about that. He knew that and he knew that it was the last thing he wanted to do. There was a reason why the Cloak wrapped itself around that very same scar, the Sorcerer knew it. 

“Hey, Merlin, something wrong?” Tony asked, in a whisper, his fingers brushing through Nat’s hair softly. And if one of the most dangerous women in the world was purring in semi-unconsciousness it wasn’t like somebody had to know. 

He looked at him and while he was aware of the light in his eyes telling a completely different story, Stephen shook his head. He knew it wasn’t his place tell Tony what he saw, and he knew he wasn’t supposed to see that scar. And maybe it was wrong, maybe he needed to seat Nat down and asking for it, but he also respected the woman too much to do that.

**Author's Note:**

> I live for kudos and comments  
>  **wanna say 'hi'? do you have a prompt for me?** find me on [tumblr](https://ironstrange-is-the-endgame.tumblr.com/).  
> find my entire bingo card on [dreamwidth](https://myrcellabaratheon.dreamwidth.org/7206.html) and [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/posts/541820).


End file.
